Dietary Approach to Weight Management By Jun Wang, MS

Dietary Approach to Weight Management

By: Jun Wang, MS

Weight management is a challenge. Technology has led to a sedentary lifestyle; instead of physical activity, a large majority of Americans spend their time in front of a screen, lending to an unhealthy epidemic – obesity.

The obesity rate is a major health issue. In 2012, the CDC categorized 69% of adults and 31.8% of children as overweight or obese. 1 Health complications of obesity affect almost every organ in the body because obesity can cause chronic low-grade inflammation.2 Obesity has a strong relationship with Metabolic Syndrome; a condition that can include high blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar which contributes to an earlier death.3 Obesity is associated with bone and joint issues, stroke, sleep apnea, and psychological problems, as well.4 In youth, obesity may also lead to an increase risk of developing many cancers in adulthood.5

In order to lose weight, individuals must create an energy imbalance; eating less and exercising more.

Dietary Behavior Approach

24 Hour Food Recall: Record your food intake from the moment you wake up to the time you go to bed. This helps assess the calorie count and nutritional value of what you are eating.

Calorie Calculator: According to the Mifflin-St Jeor Equation, the calories that are needed to maintain weight is equal to the amount of energy expended per day, multiplied by an activity factor6. Simply put, entering your consumption into a calorie calculator may give you an idea of how many calories to consume daily in order to lose or gain weight. Cutting your calorie intake drastically will not be a quick fix! To lose weight, it is best to cut calorie intake gradually and consistently and be sure to keep up activity levels.

Energy Density (ED): ED is the number of calories (energy) in a specific amount of food.7 Water and fiber have relatively none to very low energy density, while fat is the most energy dense food component. In general, fruits, vegetables and broth-based soups are rich in water and fiber, but light in fat. Have a glass of water before a meal or chose a serving of vegetables or soup to start, which will improve satiety and help prevent you from eating more fat. With activity, your body uses calories for energy. Once that energy is used up, your body is running on fumes. Avoid going longer than 4-5 hours between healthy meals.

Physical Activity Approach

Physical activity is a must for weight loss and management. Thirty minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity daily (150 min/week) is recommended to reduce chronic disease risk and 60 minutes of moderate daily activity (300 min/week) is recommended to prevent weight gain in adulthood

Supplements for Weight Management

White kidney beans supply a carbohydrate blocker that inhibits the enzyme amylase from breaking starches down into sugar; absorbing less sugar from foods such as bread, potato, pasta or rice helps reduce your intake of calories.

Probiotics are live bacteria that support the activity of the body’s healthy bacterial population. They help burn calories by releasing the appetite-reducing hormone GLP-18,9 . They decrease body fat by increasing levels of the protein ANGPTL4.10 Probiotics can also reduce inflammation and may improve gut health. A meta-analysis of 17 randomized clinical trials in humans indicates that probiotics help treat obesity.11

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